Corporations

Invasion of the Franchise Snatchers

While "attending an open meeting of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities," Bruce Kushnick saw "something odd. Three guys are standing in the back by the exit door and they keep shaking the hands of the speakers, most of whom testified that Verizon should get a new, statewide franchise." The three guys were Verizon employees, and many of the speakers were from groups that receive Verizon funding. Such telecom astroturf is spreading, warns Kushnick.

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More Outsourced Science Raises More Questions

"The public interest and the private interest aren't always the same thing," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), as Congress prepares to investigate "possible conflicts of interest involving medical research firms such as the Constella Group." The U.S.

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Tampa Testimony Against Media Consolidation, for Media "Convergence"

On April 30, "the Federal Communications Commission was in Tampa to hear from opponents and advocates of media consolidation," reports Pat Walters. "Since June, the FCC has been reviewing several planned changes to the rules governing media ownership.

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Thailand Pays for a PR Coup

Thailand's unelected interim government, which was installed after a military coup in September 2006, is "increasingly unpopular at home" and "under attack abroad for overriding drug patents," reports Reuters. So, according to former army chief turned Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, Thailand will "spend $600,000 on a three-month public relations campaign" to improve the government's poor image. "The money isn't much, but we have to do what we have to do," said Chulanont.

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Government Contractors: Not Your Average Corporate Evildoers

"Fearing increased oversight from the newly elected Democratic-controlled Congress, the Coalition for Government Procurement (CGP), a trade group representing government product and service suppliers, is planning a PR and marketing campaign to promote its members as responsible companies and not stereotypical 'corporate evildoers,'" reports Ted McKenna. The CGP is also forming a new group, the Council on Responsible Contracting (CORC).

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Spin Doctor Claims Greenwashing Is Dying

E. Bruce Harrison, who began his PR career by helping the pesticide industry attack Rachel Carson and her classic 1962 environmental book "Silent Spring," now proclaims that the era of corporate greenwashing is almost over. In an opinion column, he writes that greenwashing in the 1990's "meant the company was painting over bad stuff with good words.

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